Stefanovic: Russia and China helped us block Pristina’s Interpol bid

The fact that Pristina did not receive support for Interpol membership and withdrew their candidacy is the result of Serbia’s diplomatic activity.

Deputy PM and Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said this on Friday, adding that this diplomatic activity had lasted several months.

Kosovo’s possible membership in Interpol would lead to the issuing of Interpol notices against a large number of Serbian police officers and soldiers who took part in the operations in 1998 and 1999, whom Serbia would then be asked to extradite, he said.

“We undertook a huge diplomatic activity. We had big support from China and Russia. Pristina saw that it did not have enough support and gave up on the candidacy, thus Serbia scored a diplomatic victory,” Stefanovic told RTS.

He stressed that another important success was achieved at the recent Interpol General Assembly in Beijing -namely, a resolution adopted by the Interpol Executive Committee that clearly defines criteria for membership in the organization.

As for the next step of Pristina – which is to try to join UNESCO – Stefanovic said it was still unknown whether they would apply.

“But I know how much effort the (Serbian) president and the foreign minister have invested in explaining to Serbian partners how wrong a move that would be,” he said.

“If you have a responsible policy towards the (Kosovo) negotiations in Brussels, then you must stop with constant pressure on Serbia,” Stefanovic said, adding that Serbia “stands firm in defending its national interests and has so far been successful in that.”